Oops. Another update that took 5 months…I am very sorry.

Maribelle Dakota, 16

District 10, 9 months before the Reapings

Maribelle Dakota didn't find herself in complete control of things in her life, but on this tiny wooden board, she was the one calling shots.

Her deep brown eyes narrowed, absorbing the positions of each of the pieces. Rook there, bishop here, queen 2 moves away from checking her king. Mari flicked her eyes up to her opponent, a tall boy with glasses, slicked back hair, and a fiendish smirk. He couldn't have been more of a cliché for a chess player. Maybe he had won quite a few tournaments, and maybe he was slated for an easy career in the Biolabs, but he wasn't going to beat her. She didn't even know his name. It's not like it mattered. Losers didn't have names. They didn't deserve them.

Mari's eyes flicked back to the pieces and she finalized her plan of attack. She had spent the entire game conditioning her opponent to only focus on her queen and her rook. A couple sacrifices were even necessary to get him relaxed. Mari knew this game was much more about strategy. It was about reading people and making specific movements to trick them into doing exactly what you wanted them to do.

She had her mother to thank for that. Her mother was in charge of the business transactions of the Dakota Family Farm, and that meant using cunning tactics to stay on top. There was a reason her family was the owner of the second biggest farm in all of District 10. There was a reason they were some of the wealthiest in the district. District 10's expansive and spread-out population meant little for unity and communication, resulting in an individualist mindset for the majority of the citizens. However, most found themselves working as farm hands to larger farms. Individual spirit was easily crushed in the system.

Learning the family trade was one of Mari's favorite things to do. She disliked the manual labor of the farm, but was overjoyed anytime she was able to help her mother with finances. Math, calculations, precision; all things that meant a lot to Mari. So when her school opened a small chess club, she was overjoyed to begin to learn. Very quickly, Mari found that chess was much more than moving pieces around the board. It was series of moves and countermoves, all working towards an endgame that resulted in the complete destruction and humiliation of the opponent.

"Well? Are you gonna make your move?" The boy across from her smirked. "Or have you just given up?"

Mari sighed and met and the boy's stare. She decided to remain silent as she moved her black queen to check his white king.

"Check," she muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

The classroom they were playing in was one of the smaller ones. Its muted brown paint was peeling and the windows were dusty, barely letting in the light of the late afternoon sun. Classes had officially let out which meant it was time for the few members of chess club to meet and battle. The type of kids to join the club were usually the wealthier kids who would go on to complete their education in the Biolabs rather than school. Mari thought she was smart enough to work there, but there was no reason too when she was living quite comfortably for the foreseeable future.

Currently, there were only 3 other members of the club in the room. All three were boys and they were watching the match eagerly from a cluster of desks a few feet away from the table with the chess board. The boy across from her scratched his head, looking quizzically at the board.

"They told me you were supposed to be good," he said as he rolled his eyes. "That move was so idiotic. I can end this game in two moves now." The boy immediately took her queen with his king. Without her queen, Mari's king was much more vulnerable. But, she had planned for this.

"Two moves you said?" Mari decided to offer a smirk of her own this time as she reached to the far right of the board and took out the boy's last rook with her little unassuming knight. Now, she let herself relax.

"Oh, it's check again by the way."

The boy's mouth dropped open as he surveyed the board, beginning to understand the trap she had set for him. It was satisfying to see. Mari was never a fan of the slaughter of animals that was so commonplace in District 10, but the slaughter of a person's confidence in one swift movement? That was something to behold.

Mari relished in the shock in the boy's eyes as he looked back up to her visage. It was about to be over. She had made sure that there was nothing, no move he could make that would take the game from her. Seeing the boy come to this realization made all of her effort worth it.

"You see it now?" she inquired ever so politely, in such a way that it came off as mocking. Mari allowed herself to be filled up in her confidence. It was very close to crossing over to arrogance, but she didn't have that many opportunities to truly feel like she was worth something. This was her game.

"H-how…" The boy was completely in shock. Mari had to stop herself from laughing. The game was simplicity itself. Oh how easy it was to manipulate boys oozing with excessive confidence.

"With all due respect, my game moves are my own. I won't tell you how I won, and I won't ask you why you lost. Now, do you want to make the only move you can make so we can end this game?"

"No need for that," the boy exhaled through his teeth. He flicked his white king and it clattered to the board, echoing through the silent classroom. Something about seeing a king go down was so satisfying. Mari never got tired of watching kings fall.

The nameless defeated boy quickly stood up, his wooden chair scraping so violently that it seemed like an animal was crying out in pain. He huffed and hurriedly exited the classroom. Mari looked over to the boys still in the room and beamed at them, hoping that they would congratulate her, but to her dismay, they were already moving towards the door without a single cursory glance.

Mari sat in her chair until the sound of footsteps clattering against the floor faded into nothingness. Only then did she allow her shoulders to slump. She inhaled for a long white for letting out a massive sigh. Just once, she wanted to be appreciated. Just once.

As she began to clean up the board and the pieces, she found her hands lingering on her black king. Mari rubbed her fingers across the glossy piece before finishing boxing up the chess set. She placed it on one of the low shelves that lined the bottom of the classroom windows. Dust was drifting through the air, the sunlight revealing the normally invisible tiny particles to the naked eye.

The game was completed, so it was time to head for home. Mari grabbed her bag from a nearby desk and headed towards the door. Just as she was about to exit, a girl appeared on the other side of the door frame. It was almost as if Mari was looking in a mirror. The two girls looked exactly the same. Their only difference was in their clothes. The other girl was wearing a much shorter shirt than Mari was, and her hair was parted to the left in contrasted to Mari's midpart.

"I was wondering where you were! I thought I'd get you so we could walk home!" Annabelle. Mari's twin sister. The two girls were born as the fourth kids in their family, although Anna technically counted as the fifth because she was born 5 minutes after Mari.

"Hey! Yeah I-uh, just had a match to finish up."

"A match? Well, you won right?" Anna cocked her head, waiting for the response.

"As always," Mari replied with a slight smile.

"Well good, we should get going then, everyone else is waiting just outside." Anna waved Mari on and the two left the classroom and went down the empty hall of the school. They walked in almost perfect unison, just with Anna slightly ahead of Mari. The twins were inseparable since birth. Mari had always considered Anna to be her best friend. As with all siblings, they ended up fighting from time to time, but they usually ended up working things out.

Anna pushed the doors open to the outside, letting the late afternoon sun burst into the dim hallway. Mari shielded her eyes as she walked outside, just after Anna. The sun was dipping in the sky, but the heat was still sizzling. Things in District 10 were usually pretty hot. The dry grass beds and other various plants greeted the sisters as they trudged towards 4 people standing by the short wooden fence that snaked itself around the perimeter of the school.

"Hey guys!" Anna called as she broke into a little jog towards the circle of kids. Mari trailed behind, keeping the same pace as before. When she finally got to the circle, Anna and her friends were already engaged in heavy conversation.

"-yeah that sounds perfect."

"Yeah it's so fucking great, it'll be a great night."

Mari already felt herself tensing up, her body almost shrinking as she stood just outside the circle of kids. They were chattering so fast that Mari couldn't even follow the track of their conversation anymore.

Her sister was the most popular kid in their year. She was funny, attractive, and charismatic, everything that Mari didn't think she was. It was easy to follow her sister around. They had always been together, and that wasn't going to change because Anna was so popular. However, she never really felt included. Anna's friends were Mari's friends, but that friendship was not mutual. Hanging around with Anna was much preferable to hanging out with the quiet girl who played a game after school.

Mari opened her mouth to greet her friends, but no sound left her mouth. She closed it, feeling self-conscious and utterly stupid. All she wanted right now was to just go home. It was getting hot out anyway.

"So you're invited right?" a girl directed her question at Anna.

"Fuck yeah, why wouldn't I be? I'm too fucking sexy to ignore," Anna said with a giggle. Her friends laughed with her. Mari wished she was melting in the blistering heat.

"We'll see you at 8 then."

"Sounds good! See ya then," Anna waved as the group departed, a huge smile stretching across her face. "Shall we head home then?" she said, turning to Mari.

"Yeah. Let's go." Mari couldn't stop the sadness from creeping into her voice. Anna picked up immediately.

"Something wrong?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Mari knew that her sister was being genuine in her concern, but she didn't want to bother her. After all, it wasn't Anna's fault that she was so well-liked. If anything, it was Mari's fault for being so bland.

Mari let out another long sigh. "I'm fine, just tired from the game." Anna nodded in response, satisfied with the answer. She turned and started walking down a short incline, kicking up some dust as she did so.

After a moment, Mari began to walk too. Her feet barely raised off the grainy terrain as she shuffled towards her sister, who was already moves ahead of her. Perhaps she was just was pawn, watching the more important pieces move around and leaving her behind. The difference was that pawns could actually be important, and Maribelle Dakota couldn't even manage that.

Lincoln Everette, 17

District 10, eve of the Reapings

It was the eve of the most feared day for any kid 18 and under, but Lincoln Everette didn't feel too bad. In District 10, the summer heat was absolutely stifling. Getting work done out in the heat of the day was incredibly strenuous, so the slightly cooler night offered a slight reprieve from the unrelenting celestial force.

The sun had disappeared, but the luminescence of stars speckled the deep, dark blue sky. Most people would be going to bed, fearful of the coming Reapings. But not Lincoln. He was thrilled to be out in the breezy night air with his friends by his side.

Every three days, Lincoln and his friends would gather in one of the many expansive fields in the area and play a game. They called it Skinnet, and it was basically just opposing teams trying to keep a dried pig skin in the air. The rules were simple: once the "skinnet" fell to the ground, the person who touched it last would not score for their team, but the other team would gain a point. Lincoln's area of District 10 had created this sport, and there were even casual competitions and tournaments. Sometimes the prize would be to get a hunk of pork to divide amongst the team. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Lincoln and his closest childhood friend, Jerran, were part of a small team of other boys from school, and they had decided in spite of the Reapings to keep their nightly practice. He was glad they did. Lincoln tried to avoid going home earlier in then night, as his father would stumble through the threshold of their home with the musk of booze hanging about him. Getting less sleep was an easy trade off.

Sweat was already beading on Lincoln's forehead despite the cooler night as he rushed to push the skinnet into the air. The terrain was rough, but years of time on fields like this made Lincoln quite used to it. He had no problem flying across patches of green intermixed with the reddish-brown dust that was so plentiful. His muscular legs rippled as they propelled him forward in a full sprint.

There. The skinnet was coming down just to his right. He heard the other boys yelling at him to get it, and let out a breathy chuckle. Of course he was going to get. Lincoln turned slightly to the right and reached his arm up to fling the skinnet behind him. It went pretty far, which was impressive considering how it wasn't even close to aerodynamic. Lincoln's arms were just as powerful as his legs. His biceps were extremely impressive for a 17-year-old who didn't have full course meals fed to him all the time. His time as a farmhand as well as personal exercises had made him well-muscled overall, and he was quite proud of his body.

Lincoln's parents never really cared about him. His birth was an unhappy accident, which was fitting since only unhappiness followed. Basic needs were fulfilled, but there was no love, no support, no compassion. When he started to attend school as a kid, he didn't make friends easily and was actually picked on pretty badly. Lincoln wasn't sure why everyone bullied him. It was just so unfair. Loneliness and self-loathing crept into his life. Things would only get worse. Fearing school, Lincoln began to skip, which resulted in cruel punishment from an unhappy, drunken father.

As such, Lincoln was happy to have something that he could be proud of, and something that others admired too. He knew got a lot of stares from the girls at school, but he never really knew how to talk to them. He was too shy, too worried of coming on too strong, and too scared to get close to someone. There was a girl named Autumn who had told him he wasn't worthless when they were kids, and Lincoln clung to that. He had a crush on her ever since, but aside from short conversations and a smile here and there, he hadn't been able to do anything about it.

Despite his girl troubles, Lincoln had one person that he knew loved him. Jerran. The two became friends as kids. He was the only person who talked to Lincoln and they began to spend a lot of time together. Lincoln ended up spending a lot of time at Jerran's house to avoid his father and his drink, so they grew rather close.

The skinnet had been caught by Jerran of course, always one to have his back.

"Nice one!" Lincoln called to Jerran as he caught skinnet from himself. Lincoln stopped running for a moment, watching Jerran's arms flex as he then passed it to another team. He let out a slight sigh and couldn't help feel a little hot in his face, and it wasn't from the night's temperature.

Lincoln wiped perspiration from his brow and took off running towards the other boys again. The breeze shot past him, cooling his reddened face. He let himself smile through his sharp inhales and exhales and he clomped along. Just as he was catching up to Jerran and the boys, the skinnet hit the ground. A few of the boys let out a collective groan, but Jerran let out a celebratory yell.

"Let's go!" he yelled, clapping one of his teammates on the back. It seemed that Lincoln's team was victorious.

"Fuck yeah man," Lincoln cried, wrapping Jerran in a brief hug. Jerran's body was warm and sweaty, but Lincoln didn't mind. He felt his face grow a bit hot again, and something tingled in his chest, but the adrenaline of the game allowed him to push that away.

"Good game," one of the losing teammates addressed Lincoln, offering his hand. Lincoln smiled and repeated the words of sportsmanship. The group then got silent for a moment. None of them wanted to acknowledge what was happening tomorrow, and that any one of them could be picked. However, this Reapings was different. The Quell twist indicated that some Capitolite was going to handpick a pair from each district. This changed everything.

Lincoln had applied for tesserae ever since he was eligible and was always worried about his higher chances, especially as he got older. But this twist negated all that. The pair could literally be anyone. Lincoln wasn't too worried. Out of all the people in the district, there was no way he would be noticed. He didn't bring anything to the table in terms of romance. He was more worried about Jerran, since his kind heart and heartthrob status made him a potential candidate, quite the attractive one too.

"Well…see you guys later."

"Good luck tomorrow.

"Yeah you too."

The chorus of voices washed over Lincoln as his friends departed until only Jerran remained next to him. He couldn't help but notice how amazing he looked with the wind swiping through his hair. This thought only made Lincoln worry more for him. The thought losing Jerran…no. The thought was too painful to even fully conceptualize. Just as Lincoln was about to be overcome with these horrific thoughts, Jerran spoke up.

"Hey man, wanna head over to the creek? It's just a jog away, and honestly, I'm as sweaty as a cow." Lincoln's eyes unglazed at this suggestion. The creek. This part of D10 didn't have much in the way of natural water, but the tiny little stream of water was something. It could barely be considered a creek, but it was special to him. Jerran and himself spent a lot of time there as kids, playing in the water and imagining what was beyond the far reaches of the district's borders.

"I'll race ya—" Lincoln started to say, but Jerran had already taken off.

"Last one there is a spoiled ham!" Jerran called, already sprinting away. Lincoln laughed to himself, and then took off as well. He was a bit tired from the game of Skinnet, but he was always up for a race against Jerran.

"I'll make you eat those words!" he yelled; his smile very apparent in his voice as his legs carried him forward.

It wasn't as far to the creek as it seemed when they were kids. Lincoln was always surprised how quickly they would come upon it as athletic teens instead of lonely little kids. Jerran had already beaten him there. He was standing just by the stream, which was only about as wide as the length of a full-grown cow. The water only came up to their ankles now, but its cool touch was welcome in this climate.

"Well, I guess you're a spoiled ham," Jerran laughed. Lincoln skidded to a halt, and lost his balance for the first time that night. He fell forward, about to faceplant right into the stream.

"Wha—" Lincoln exclaimed as he tumbled forward. Jerran reached out to catch him, but Lincoln wasn't a kid anymore. The two tumbled together into the shallow creek, completely soaking their shirts.

Lincoln came up coughing, but Jerran came up laughing. Their bodies were intertwined in the water, the stars' reflections peppering around them over the just born ripples.

"Damn, you're a lot heavier than I remember."

"Well, I had to grow up some time," Lincoln said pointedly.

"Hey, I grew up too ya know."

"True, you're a lot heavier too." Lincoln's jab at Jerran made him laugh.

"You make points," he said, standing up from the water. His soaked shirt clung tightly to his body, revealing his muscular torso. Lincoln was once again reminded just how attractive his best friend was. Lincoln continued to stare at Jerran's chest, long enough that Jerran took notice.

"Do I got something on me?" he asked, looking up and down himself.

"Uh- nope, you're fine…just got…nostalgic for a second." Lincoln tripped over his words a bit, causing his heart to pound a bit more heavily.

"Yeah, I really do love this place," Jerran said pensively. He took a deep breath before grabbing the bottom of his wet shirt and pulling it up and over his head. "Well this thing is completely soaked." He threw his shirt down a little way from the edge of the creek. "Hopefully the summer sun dries it fast." There was no sun in the sky, but Lincoln didn't bother to correct this strange sentence.

"I'm totally soaked too." Before he could even process what he was doing, Lincoln hoisted himself out of the shallow water and copied Jerran, pulling his own shirt over his head and throwing it down beside Jerran's. "I was sweaty as shit anyway."

Jerran nodded in response, and Lincoln swore he saw Jerran's eyes look his body up and down. "Yup, it was quite the game."

"You were the real star though, that play at the end was great."

"Pssh, that was nothing. I don't have the speed like you, I just got lucky," Jerran brushed off Lincoln's compliment, looking away. Lincoln took this opportunity to reach down in the water and splash Jerran. The upward trajectory of the water collided with his bare chest, the water droplets trickling weaving their way down his toned stomach.

"You're right, I do have speed," Lincoln laughed. Jerran's shocked face quickly changed into a smirk.

"Oh yeah?" He reached down and returned the favor, splashing water across Lincoln's body. The cool water felt amazing as it raced down his torso. He felt the heat of the night alleviate for a moment, but as Jerran looked at him, he felt the heat return. However, the heat only showed in the glow of his face.

The two boys stood there in the angle-deep water, letting the breeze whisk and curl around their bodies. Innumerous stars smiled upon them, and the night seemed ever so still. Lincoln opened his mouth to say something before Jerran strode forward and wrapped him in a hug. He flinched as Jerran's hands crept around his body…but he was so warm.

Lincoln closed his eyes and hugged him back, reaching around his chest, his hands then resting on Jerran's back muscles. They each breathed in together for a moment, their bodies attached, connected, in unison.

"I care about you lot, you know," Jerran whispered. His voice quivered with surprising emotion. Lincoln's heart was beating very fast. He was confused. Extremely confused. He had no idea what he was feeling, but in Jerran's embrace, everything seemed ok.

"You've been with me in my darkest hours…I can never repay you for that." Jerran's hold tightened on him as Lincoln spoke these words.

"You don't have to repay me with anything. All you have to do is be here. That's enough for me," Jerran spoke softly in his ear. Lincoln exhaled, smiling as another gust of summer breeze floated by them.

"It's enough for me too." They broke apart after another moment. Lincoln felt like his face was burning. "We should probably head back. Tomorrow is…tomorrow."

Jerran nodded in solemn agreement. His shoulders slumped. "Yeah…tomorrow."

Lincoln wanted to desperately voice his concern to Jerran, that he was quite the perfect person to be chosen for this Quell, the kind of person someone would love to have a boyfriend. He just couldn't find the words.

As Jerran turned his back and went to retrieve his shirt, Lincoln Everette couldn't help but worry that the boy that mattered more to him than anything in the world could be going to the slaughter.

Wow, I am very sorry for yet another long wait. I actually kinda struggled to write out these two characters and I'm not totally sure why. I also was really busy with college had multiple depressive episodes so writing became difficult once again.

Thanks to those of you who are still sticking with the story! I really appreciate it. I am slow writer compared to a lot of people so thanks for hanging around.

As always, if the submitters of these two tributes have any complaints about the way I wrote them, please PM me! I would love to make course corrections early on so I don't settle into a character that is quite different from the one that you intended to be written.

Shout out to Matts0688 and Zacksteel for reviewing the last chapter! I greatly appreciate it.

And with that, WE ARE HALF WAY DONE WITH INTROS. Wow. It's been a long time coming. Over a year since the story began. I am very sorry, but progress is progress! I'm hoping to have another update for this Valentine's Day so stay tuned!

Are you #teamLARIBELLE?